WRITE-BYTES
Learn from the wise and thrive.That’s my writer’s motto. On the other hand, go where your own creative energy takes you. I try to blend these two approaches. I savor the golden nuggets I get from the experts on the craft of writing. But I also use my gut and trust and honor my unique writer’s “voice.”
I was fortunate to attend an excellent Sisters in Crime webinar with Catriona McPherson who writes mysteries set in the 1930’s as well as contemporary psychological thrillers. Everything I got from her session was valuable for me as a suspense novelist.
In this blog post, I’ll dig into PLANTING CLUES, the focus of Catriona’s presentation.
Catriona began her talk with the three questions inherent in every mystery: How dunnit? Why dunnit? and When dunnit? She, then, zeroed in on the methods available to writers for inserting clues as the story unfolds.
Some of the content gems I picked up from Catriona’s engaging presentation include the following:
- The writer can plant or hide CLUES in a variety of ways:
- In the details (maybe insert a detail that refers to who dunnit, why dunnit or when dunnit)
- In humor (a joke or funny vignette told by a character)
- In a character’s attitudeabout something (how s/he observes or experiences a situation)
- In the point of view (how the writer decides to tell the story either from the narrator’s voice, from the protagonist’s voice or otherwise)
- In the subplot to the story(something related to a secondary background plot)
- In a sex scene (maybe something noticed by a character during intimacy, could be a small detail)
- The writer can also plant clues by omitting information. For example, a dog who doesn’t bark in the middle of the night. A character may point out how odd that is, which may turn out to be an important clue for the reader.
- In planting CLUES, use the RULE OF 3! Only plant clues3 TIMES in the whole book. Otherwise, the writer is overusing “clues.” Insert a clue once EARLY ON, once MID-WAY and then once LATE in the story. 3 CLUES and that’s it.
What was so interesting to me was that Catriona suggested that the first clue the writer plants should be done before the reader even cares; literally when the reader may have no idea that it might even be a clue. This was a very helpful tidbit of advice for me as a suspense writer.
Now, I’m eager to go back to each of my six published suspense novels and check for when and how I’ve inserted clues or used any type of foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is a form of providing clues, but a more subtle technique than actually giving a clue. I have found that sometimes, while writing, I inadvertently foreshadow something that will happen later in my story. Perhaps it was lingering in my subconscious and then somehow it comes out on the page. When I read back the chapter or scene, I realize that indeed, I planted a clue or used foreshadowing. Catriona recommends that writers be intentional when giving clues or foreshadowing. For me, I may have done this sometimes accidentally.
Another topic that Catriona touched on was the possible inclusion of a “red herring” in the story. This refers to when the protagonist derives that something is a CLUE regarding who committed the crime or murder, BUT gets it all wrong. The example Catriona gave was this one: A stranger arrives at a wedding at around midnight and everyone assumes he’s the likely murderer. After all, who shows up at midnight? What’s his motive to arrive so late? He appears to be the guilty one based on his behaviors and awkward timing. But in reality, it turns out that he had nothing to do with the murder. The author has craftily introduced a “red herring.”
Catriona’s presentation triggered me to think more about the reader’s experience. Of course, we want our readers to have a rich and intense adventure. Here are some emotions which I hope my readers feel when jumping into one of my suspense novels:
- Worry or anticipation about what might happen next in the story
- Some feeling of anxiety or discomfort (especially right before or when the threat or danger is happening)
- Curiosity about what has already occurred in the story (more details/information not yet revealed by me, the narrator)
- Yearning to discover the ultimate outcome for the lead and secondary characters
- Satisfaction with how loose ends have been tied up (whether positive or negative) for characters in the story, leaving no dangling issues to be resolved (unless it’s a tease for the next book)
The goal for a mystery or suspense novelist is to successfully stimulate the reader’s empathy and concern for the main characters in the story. Is the reader rooting for our protagonist? And, how do we, as writers get the reader to that point?
In doing more research, I was reminded that in the film Back to the Future, during the opening credits, an actor is seen hanging from the minute hand of a clock. This one visual foreshadows Doc Brown hanging from the clock tower later in the movie as he attempts to send Marty McFly back to the 1980’s. In this case, foreshadowing was used so well at the start without giving away the big scene or the main plot!
I will keep these techniques in mind as I write into the future. I’m equipped with hot tips for planting clues.
Highlights in bold italics above capture the core of this blog post!
Stay tuned for next week. Look for this BLOG every FRIDAY which will l be posted at 9 a.m.
Next week’s WRITE-BYTES post will be titled SELF-PUBLISHING YOUR BOOK.
If you find this blog post useful please let me know at linda.gunther@sbcglobal.net
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